


The Trick About Shibari

by Imoshen



Series: Tricks About [5]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Bottom Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, D/s, Dildos, Edging, Joe's hand on Nicky's throat, M/M, Oral Sex, Rope Bondage, Shibari, Top Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Vibrators, not choking just holding him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:34:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28676757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imoshen/pseuds/Imoshen
Summary: Nicky needs a little help to be calm enough for a phone call. Joe's idea? Ropes, toys... and edging. (It works.)
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: Tricks About [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1992388
Comments: 27
Kudos: 176





	The Trick About Shibari

It's a lazy, calm Saturday when Nicky first mentions it. They've been cuddled up on Joe’s comfy sofa for most of the morning, Nicky draped over Joe with his nose buried against Joe’s throat and his fingers playing absently with the frayed shoulder seam of Joe’s favorite t-shirt. Joe has been content to stroke his hand up and down Nicky's back as he half-dozes, half-listens to Jamie Oliver gush over good food, when his lover stirs, murmurs "Joe… can… I mean…"

He falls silent again, and Joe makes a low, questioning noise. Nicky sighs.

"I got a text from my brother last night."

Joe very carefully doesn't stiffen. Nicky’s family is a sore topic, with his sister and mother happy for him and the happiness he's found, and his father and older brother… Nicky hasn't said much, but from what Joe read between the lines they haven't forgiven him for leaving the Church, leaving Italy, or being not as straight as a good catholic man _should_ be in their world.

"Was it a bad text?" Joe asks softly when Nicky doesn't continue. "Or bad news?"

"I don't know," Nicky admits. "I… he said he needed to talk to me, and to please call if I could, and now…" He shivers and burrows deeper into Joe. "I need to be calm when I call him, or I’m just going to start arguing with him on principle… and I can’t get there. I’m too… wound up.”

Joe strokes his hand up and down Nicky’s back, considering what his lover has and hasn’t said. “Do you want a little help?” he asks, hand sliding down to cup Nicky’s butt over his sweatpants. “Because I’m sure we can get you nice and mellow, Nico.”

His answer is a shiver running through Nicky, and blue-green-grey eyes peering at him through Nicky’s lashes. “…yes,” Nicky whispers. “Please, Joe.”

Nicky’s just barely in reach for a kiss, but Joe makes it work anyway, kisses him soft but thorough until Nicky makes a needy little noise in the back of his throat and goes pliant in his hold, those gorgeous eyes half-lidded and hungry.

“Go get comfortable on my bed,” Joe tells him gently, squeezing his ass in emphasis. “I want you ready for me, hayati.”

Nicky nods, swallows. “Yes,” he says again and climbs off Joe, off the sofa. Joe eyes the growing tent in Nicky’s pants with a smirk, then rolls to his side to watch as Nicky makes a beeline towards Joe’s bedroom. He’s stripping out of his t-shirt before he’s through the door, and the sight of those broad shoulders being revealed makes Joe’s own dick twitch with interest.

Red, he decides. He’s going to use the deep red ropes on Nicky, they’ll be beautiful in contrast to his skin.

Joe takes his time, turns off the TV and folds the blanket they’ve been curled up beneath, then takes a detour through the kitchen for water. When he finally walks into his bedroom, Nicky is waiting on his bed as instructed, naked and flushed with anticipation. He’s stretched out on his back, arms above his head and fingers wrapped around the headboard of Joe’s bed, and the sight alone has Joe’s dick jump in his sweats. “Fuck, you’re sexy,” he praises and watches the flush on Nicky’s cheeks darken. “Such a beautiful man, and all mine to play with.”

“All yours,” Nicky agrees huskily, arching a little. It shows off how beautifully his body narrows down towards his hips, draws the gaze to the long, thick erection between his strong thighs, and is clearly a calculated move. Joe chuckles and sets the water down, sets one knee on the bed and taps Nicky’s hip.

“I’m not going to be seduced so easily,” he purrs. “Behave, Nicky.”

Nicky smirks at him, challenge in those changeable eyes. “I’m not doing anything you told me not to do,” he says, and Joe laughs and kisses him.

“You are such a little shit.” It’s an affectionate murmur against Nicky’s lips, and he can feel Nicky’s low chuckle rumble through his chest. “Alright, rules: you won’t move unless I tell you to move. You’ll answer my questions honestly. Oh, and… you’re not allowed to come until I tell you to. Got it?”

Nicky’s eyes have gone wide, and now he nods. “Got it,” he promises, low and rough. Joe gives him another kiss as a little reward, then strokes one hand down Nicky’s chest to rest it on his belly. Nicky shivers beneath his touch.

“Here’s what I’m going to do,” Joe begins, petting the soft skin beneath his hand a little. Nicky feels so good beneath his hand, warm and pliant and willing. “I’m going to tie you up nice and pretty, and then I’m going to play with your beautiful body until you’re begging me for permission to come… and then I’m going to keep playing with you until you’re not thinking about anything but my touch and my voice.”

A shudder runs through Nicky at that, but he doesn’t protest. Joe pats his belly. “Stay here,” he says, then goes to dig through his own toy drawer.

He doesn’t have quite the same sheer number of different toys available as Nicky does, but he doesn’t need that today, either. The red ropes are waiting in a neat coil, carefully checked and ready to be used. Joe sets the coils down within Nicky’s line of sight and makes sure the safety scissors are resting within easy reach on his beside table, then pokes through the rest of his toys… Nicky likes to be full, so he selects a few different dildos to pick from later and his own favorite vibrator, then picks up a rock ring as an afterthought. Nicky’s not going to get that one from the start, but Joe is willing to help him if he needs it.

Nicky hasn’t moved, except to turn his head a little so he can keep watching Joe. His lovely lips are a little red and a little wet, as if he bit or licked at them, but Joe is going to let that slide – he told Nicky not to move, but movement is a wide term.

“Have you been tied up before?” he asks, because he has no idea how experienced Nicky is with the kind of bondage Joe excels at. His artist’s mind is already seeing Nicky in full suspension, beautiful as an erotic painting, but he doesn’t want to overwhelm him with too much. Nicky is supposed to relax.

“Yeah,” Nicky says, licks his lower lip again. “Been a while, though.”

Joe nods. “I want you to tell me if anything feels uncomfortable,” he tells Nicky and waits until Nicky has nodded before he climbs onto the bed with him. “Now, let’s see.”

He starts with Nicky’s legs, guiding them back until the back of his thigh and his calf are nice and snug, then knots the rope around his ankle, his foot, works his way up with careful coils of rope. He helps Nicky to sit up, then kneel in the middle of Joe’s bed, nudges his bound legs apart until he’s satisfied – Nicky shivers and his cock twitches, and Joe smirks. “Do you like being on display for me, Nico?”

“Yes,” Nicky whispers immediately, his cheeks still flushed bright red. He licks his lips again but doesn’t fidget though Joe can tell he wants to. “I like it.”

“Good,” Joe purrs. “I like you on display for me too, caro mio.”

Nicky smiles, bright and happy, and Joe kisses that smile before he continues to wrap rope around his lover. Dark red frames Nicky’s pretty cock, forms diamond shapes around his belly and lower back, then runs up his ribcage and over those broad shoulders. Joe makes sure the silky rope rubs against both nipples with every breath Nicky takes, then watches as Nicky’s lids flutter shut and he tries so hard not to move, not to writhe in his half-finished bondage. “Beautiful,” he praises when Nicky finally settles again, his muscles relaxing. “Now, let’s see about your hands.”

He wants to be able to reposition Nicky, put him on his back if the fancy strikes, but there is something about the way a person looks with their arms tied behind their back, and Joe knows Nicky will be stunning. So he guides both arms behind Nicky’s back and decides on a simple tie, aligns Nicky’s forearms and guides his hands to cup his own elbows, then ties them into place with a few careful loops of rope and a few well-placed knots.

“Comfortable?” he murmurs into Nicky’s ear once he’s done, resting his hands on Nicky’s waist over the ropes. Nicky shivers, nods.

“Yes,” he breathes. “Feels so good, Joe.”

Joe smiles and kisses Nicky’s throat just beneath his ear. “Good boy,” he purrs, watches another shiver run through that beautiful body. “You are so beautiful for me, my Nico. I could fill a sketchbook with you looking like this.”

Nicky makes a soft sound, but it’s not protest – Joe tucks that away for later, to be talked about once Nicky isn't tied up and he can be certain they’re both completely sober. Instead of reaching for his charcoal and sketchbook, he reaches for the lube. The _snick_ of the bottle’s cap has Nicky jerk in his bonds.

“Shh,” Joe murmurs. He nibbles at the long line of Nicky’s throat, rubs his bearded cheek against the tender skin. “I’ve got you, my darling. Let’s make you feel so good, yes?”

“Yes,” Nicky sighs, slumping a little in his bonds, and Joe wraps his free arm around him and holds him close against his chest as he runs lube-slick fingers down between his cheeks, stroking up and down from the top of his crack to his balls and back up. Nicky’s breath speeds up in anticipation, muscles tensing, but Joe doesn’t push in, doesn’t even touch his hole… not until Nicky sighs, and relaxes again.

The moan when Joe gives him a finger, slow and deep and without pause, is so full of need that Joe knows, if Nicky were free, he’d end up flipped onto his back for Nicky to take what he wants.

“We’ll be going nice and slow,” he murmurs, lets his voice drop a little lower because he knows what it does to him when Nicky uses that tone on him. Going by the shiver that runs through Nicky, it has the same effect on him. “You have such a greedy hole, my darling… I promise we’re going to fill you up so good, but you’ll have to be a little more patient today.”

Nicky whines, his muscles clenching around the single finger Joe is working in and out of him, and Joe chuckles and slides it out until just the tip remains, nudging against Nicky’s entrance. He keeps it there, applying just a bit of pressure, not enough to sink in but enough to hint at it, and waits.

Nicky whimpers. “Please,” he breathes, “please Joe let me have it, need to feel you, need to be full…”

“Good boy,” Joe tells him again, letting Nicky’s greedy body swallow his finger again. Nicky shivers as if he’d been stuffed full with Joe’s cock. “So good for me, holding so still when I know you want to move, want to use your pretty body to beg.”

“Please,” Nicky whispers, swallows. His hole clenches around Joe’s finger again, so hungry for more. “Please, give me more?”

“So eager.” Joe pulls his finger halfway out, pushes it back in. Nicky’s body accepts it easily, Nicky making a soft, pleading sound as he’s filled again. “Should we give you two, my sweet boy?”

“Yes!” is the immediate answer, so eager makes Joe’s dick twitch again in his sweats. He’s rock hard and there’s a wet spot in his underwear where he’s been leaking, but in his defense… Nicky is incredibly hot like this.

Joe pulls his finger free and goes for more lube, slicks his fingers up thoroughly before setting them against Nicky’s twitching hole again. He waits for a breath, two… when Nicky breathes in to plead again, Joe pushes his fingers in.

Nicky’s body jerks in his hold, head falling back against Joe’s shoulder with a moan. His eyes are closed, cheeks flushed so bright, and his lower lip is bitten so red and full it looks almost as if Joe fucked his mouth already. Nicky’s lids flutter as he moans again, body clenching and releasing around the fingers pushed deep into his hole, and Joe glances down the line of his body to see Nicky’s cock is flushed with blood, glistening drops of pre-come dripping down to pool between his legs. His mouth waters at the sight.

“Such a greedy little thing,” he murmurs into Nicky’s ear. “Look how hard you are, just from my fingers in your needy little hole. I bet I could make you come just like this, couldn’t I?”

“Yes,” Nicky whispers. His tongue darts out again to lick his lips, making them shine even more. “Yes, please Joe, please…”

“It’s not going to be that easy, baby,” Joe tells him, smirking a little at the soft whine. “You’re nowhere near gone enough for me yet.”

Nicky huffs a laugh, then moans when Joe moves his hand again and starts to work him open. It doesn’t usually take much, Nicky’s body opening up easily for Joe, but today he takes his time, strokes and rubs and plays with Nicky until he’s trembling, his cock twitching with each slow push of Joe’s fingers into his ass. Nicky’s panting breaths and needy little moans mix with the slick noises of Joe’s fingers pushing in and out, a filthy little symphony for Joe’s enjoyment.

“Please,” Nicky whimpers, the first thing he says in minutes. “Oh please, so close… please, want to come…”

Joe hums as if considering it. “Do you now… I don’t think so baby.”

Nicky whines, his muscles tightening around Joe’s stroking fingers, his cock twitching between his legs… and Joe pulls his fingers out, just holds Nicky against his chest with the arm slung around his middle. Nicky sobs, head rolling against Joe’s shoulder, but he’s nowhere near desperate enough to come without any stimulation. Joe knows him well enough by now. When Nicky’s breath calms a little, when his trembling eases, Joe strokes his belly and kisses his cheek. “Beautiful.”

“Tease,” Nicky slurs, sounding a little pleasure-drunk. Joe chuckles and lightly slaps Nicky’s ass.

“No name-calling, pet.”

Nicky pouts at him, and Joe taps those full lips with a fingertip, then hisses when Nicky promptly sucks the finger in, letting his eyes fall closed again with a happy little moan. “Fuck, baby.”

Nicky lets his finger pop free, licks his lips. “Please,” he agrees, batting his lashes at Joe. It’s a pretty sight, and if Joe didn’t have plans to have Nicky wrecked and sated on his sheets today, he might have given in.

“Eventually,” he promises Nicky instead. “Now, be good and hold still for me.”

He can feel Nicky settle again, feel him shift his weight just a little in his bonds and then relax into Joe’s hold, his eyes slipping shut again as he sighs. Joe’s so fucking proud of his lover he can’t even put it in words. Nicky is a dominant little shit, and to have him give in to Joe like this is a power trip and a display of trust that Joe will have to look at again when he hasn’t got Nicky to take care of.

“Very good,” he praises, reaching for the lube again. It might be excessive, but he has more than a few things he wants to do with Nicky yet… plus, the idea of Nicky dripping wet with slick is unspeakably sexy. His slick fingers find one of the toys he’d dropped to the nightstand earlier, and a quick glance tells him he has the right one.

Nicky moans, long and low, when the tip pushes against his entrance and slides in so, so easy. It’s long, but also thinner than most of the toys Joe picked, and he smirks as Nicky whines with the realization.

“You’ll have to keep that one in yourself,” he murmurs, tapping the base once. Nicky whimpers, muscles clenching around the toy as it starts to slide back out. “Good boy.” Joe tells him, then carefully lets go of him, slowly to make sure Nicky stays upright without his support. Nicky does, letting his head fall forward instead with a little noise. Joe crawls around to his front and settles between Nicky’s spread knees, grinning up at him. “Feel free to watch,” he tells his lover, then licks up the cock in front of him, root to tip. Nicky gasps and curses, and Joe’s grin widens before he settles in for a little quality time with that beautiful cock. When he’s found a nice rhythm, one that lets Nicky slide deep into his mouth on every few downward slides and makes Joe feel nice and used, he slips a hand between Nicky’s legs and past his balls and taps the base of the toy, tugs on it just a little. Nicky jolts, moaning, and Joe can feel him tense again, try to pull it back in.

Joe pulls off his cock, licks over the tip. “Keep it in,” he orders. “Or that’s the only thing you’ll get today.”

Nicky trembles, groaning as Joe sinks his mouth down onto his cock again and nudges the toy deeper into Nicky with a fingertip. His muscles clench around the thin dildo and Joe’s fingertip immediately, and because Joe never said he was going to make it easy, he snags the base again and times the gentle tugs on it to the times Nicky’s cock slides deep into his throat.

Nicky sobs for him, moans his name and sweet little pleas, and his cock weeps into Joe’s mouth, over his tongue and down his throat. Joe could almost keep doing this, because Nicky tastes so good and it’s been a while since he took the time to suck cock like this… but when Nicky’s moans go high and breathy, his cock twitches against Joe’s tongue and his hole flutters against Joe’s fingertip when he nudges the toy, he pulls off, pulls the dildo out and leaves Nicky empty.

Nicky whimpers, writhing as much as he can in his ropes. He’s flushed all the way down to his chest now, his cock a deep red and gleaming with Joe’s spit, and Joe has to press a hand against his own dick to give himself a little relief. “You’re doing so good,” he tells Nicky, watches the shivers chase each other through his lover’s body as he gently pets his thigh, his side. Nicky blinks wet eyes open, strains forward with his lips parted, and Joe leans forward and kisses him, lets him have a taste of himself on Joe’s lips and tongue. Nicky’s moan is a desperate one, and he sucks on Joe’s tongue as if it were his dick.

Joe’s dick is all for that plan. _Later_ , Joe tells it, gentling the kiss before he pulls free altogether. Nicky sighs softly, lids fluttering open, and _oh_ , Joe thinks. Those beautiful eyes are so bright right now, slightly wet with tears but Nicky is clearly flying. Joe cups his cheek in one palm, and his heart does something complicated when Nicky purrs and nuzzles into the caress.

Nicky is so wet, so relaxed when Joe strokes searching fingers between his legs, and the low moan he gives at Joe’s fingers dipping into his hole is decadent and has Joe’s dick twitch in his pants. He strokes his fingers in deep, goes for more lube and adds a third, watches as Nicky’s body opens around them and takes them in, slick and easy. Nicky moans for each stroke in, shameless and beautiful, and Joe just can’t take it anymore.

His t-shirt goes flying, fingers slipping out just for a second because Nicky is so warm and wet inside it’s addictive, and Joe struggles out of his pants to the tune of Nicky’s breathless little moans. His lover is so wet Joe wouldn’t even need to lube up his cock but he does it anyway, just for that sharp bite of pleasure as his fingers wrap around the hot flesh and stroke. “Fuck,” he groans, and Nicky whines.

Sliding into Nicky’s body, Joe has to grit his teeth and breathe to keep from coming immediately. Nicky groans, lovely and rough as he’s filled, and he relaxes into Joe’s hold as soon as Joe tugs him backwards. “You feel so good,” Joe tells him, strokes his clean hand over Nicky’s belly and up to tease at the hard nubs of his nipples even more, slipping beneath the rope to nudge and play with them. “So good baby… take my cock so well, as if you were made for me. Love how greedy your pretty body is for me, fuck Nico…”

Because Nicky’s muscles have clenched around him as Joe dragged a nail over one needy nipple, and it feels _so fucking good_. Joe drops both hands to Nicky’s hips and holds him still, nips at the throat that is so temptingly in reach. “I’m going to fuck you now,” he whispers, “and you’re going to be a good boy for me and not come, understood?”

Nicky whines, low and pleading, and Joe nips the tender skin. “Answer me, Nico.”

“Understood,” Nicky whispers, and oh, his voice is a wreck already, raspy and low and full of need. Joe takes a deep breath and settles into a rhythm, long, hard strokes that let both him and Nicky feel every push in, every slide out. He doesn’t exactly aim for Nicky’s prostate, but he knows every time he hits it because Nicky will mewl and jolt, and his cock jumps and drools more clear fluid with each one.

“Don’t come,” Joe purrs against his throat, out of breath now. Nicky whines but shakes his head, tilting his head back further to bare his throat to Joe.

He is way too fucking hot for his own good and Joe’s sanity, and the involuntary clench of his hole around Joe’s cock when Joe hits his prostate again proves to be too much for Joe, who growls curses against that pale skin and shakes apart behind Nicky, pressing in deep and spilling more hot wetness into his beloved’s body.

He holds Nicky close for long minutes, nuzzling him as they both tremble, Joe with his orgasm and Nicky with the need to orgasm. When Joe glances down, he winces in sympathy. Nicky’s cock is flushed with blood, the tip so wet from pre-come that if he didn’t know better, didn’t know the exact kind of noise Nicky makes when he comes, he’d say his beloved disobeyed and came.

Nicky makes a low, mournful sound when Joe finally slips out, and Joe shushes him with gentle kisses, pets his flank and presses his fingers flat against Nicky’s puffy hole, feels it twitch and spasm against his skin. “You’ll be nice and full soon,” he promises, “shh, my love, I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

“Joe,” Nicky sighs, “Joe please… wanna come, please…”

“I know,” Joe purrs. “Your poor cock is so hard for me, isn’t it? Should I put a ring on that, so I can play with you as long as I want?”

Nicky blinks, then shakes his head. “No? Can you be good for me, Nico?”

“Yes,” Nicky breathes, tongue flicking out again to lick his lips. “Be good for you.”

Joe chuckles and leans up to kiss Nicky, taste those bitten-red lips once more. He takes his fingers away from Nicky’s hole just long enough to slick up the vibrator, and the noise Nicky makes when it’s pushed in, long and curved and filling him again, is enough to make Joe’s spent cock twitch in appreciation.

Nicky back in his arms, cradled securely in the ropes and in Joe’s hold, Joe taps the remote control to the vibrator. He starts it on the lowest setting, but Nicky still jerks in his arms, his moan high and needy. Joe smirks, knowing from personal experience how the toy hits all those sweet spots, an undulating length of silicone that feels so damn good. Joe came embarrassingly quickly the first time he used this, and with how Nicky is moaning and trembling in his arms, clearly doing his best to follow Joe’s order to hold still and not writhe, it’s doing something for him, too.

Joe sits up a little straighter so Nicky’s head is cradled against his shoulder properly, wraps one arm low around his belly and slides his other hand up, up until he can very gently rest it on Nicky’s throat. It’s not a chokehold, not even close, he doesn’t even apply and more pressure than just the weight of his hand, but Nicky still moans, his whole body trembling. Joe presses a kiss to his temple. “You can move now,” he whispers, and Nicky does, writhing in Joe’s arms as he tries simultaneously to get away from the toy and get _more_. His cock is weeping constantly now, clear fluid dripping down in long strands, and Joe watches it bob and twitch with every move of Nicky’s hips. “Gorgeous,” he whispers, and nudges the vibrator to a higher setting.

Nicky sobs, sucks in shallow, desperate breaths. His body arches in Joe’s hold, jerks against the ropes keeping him tied. “Please!” he gasps out, and it’s as if that one word opened the floodgates. “Please, Joe please need to come need it so bad feels so good please please please…” It’s a litany that spills from his lips, interrupted by moans and gasps for air and sweet little sobs that tell Joe exactly how far gone Nicky is. He reaches down and cups Nicky’s balls in one palm, cradles them gently and listens to the high, keening moan Nicky makes in response. Then he wraps his hand around that hot, incredibly hard cock and strokes once.

Twice.

“Come for me.”

Nicky shouts, arches in Joe’s hold, tears spilling over as he comes. Spurt after spurt of hot semen drenches Joe’s hand, and Joe strokes him through it, exactly how Nicky likes it. Nicky seems to come endlessly, wave after wave working their way through him… and then he sighs and goes lax in Joe’s hold.

Joe shifts his hold on Nick’s throat just a little, fingertips resting against the spot where Nicky’s pulse flutters beneath the skin, and then he can’t stop the proud smirk.

It’s not every day you make your lover come so hard he passes out.

“My gorgeous love,” Joe murmurs against Nicky’s ear. He turns off the vibrator and carefully pulls it free, then reaches for the scissors. A few careful cuts and Nicky’s arms are free, and Joe gently drapes him onto his side and sets to cutting the rest of the ropes off his beloved.

Nicky is stirring when Joe sets the scissors down, and Joe abandons the remains of the ropes on the floor beside the bed and curls around Nicky, tugs him into his arms.

“Nico? Are you back with me, my love?”

“Hmmmm,” Nicky sighs, clearly not all there yet. “Sono qui.”

Joe smiles and kisses his cheek, cradles Nicky in his arms like the precious thing he is. “It’s okay,” he whispers. “Take your time, I’ve got you.”

“Sì,” Nicky breathes, and then he burrows into Joe’s hold and goes limp again. Joe would think he’d passed out again or maybe fallen asleep, but Nicky’s fingers are stroking back and forth over his side, just a tiny movement that Nicky usually does when he’s the one who fucked Joe silly and they’re curled up in a sated heap.

Joe smiles and strokes his hand up and down Nicky’s back and holds him as he floats.

It’s afternoon, almost evening by the time Nicky dials his brother’s number. He’s still curled into Joe’s arms, all sated and lazy with it. His body refuses to even entertain the notion of tensing up even as the dial tone rings out.

“Pronto,” Federico’s voice comes over the speaker, and he sounds as he always does when he answers a phone call. Only then, he asks “Nicolò?” and his voice turns quiet, uncertain in a way Federico never was. Nicky blinks.

“Sì,” he says, and then switches to English so Joe will understand the whole conversation. “I got your text. What is it, Federico?”

There’s a beat of silence on the other end of the line, then the sound of a door closing. Someone – probably Federico – takes a deep breath. “How did you know, Nicolò?”

Nicky blinks, again. His big brother is confusing him so much tonight. “Know what?”

Federico takes another deep breath, and his question is rushed. “How did you know you were gay, Nico?”

Nicky thinks that if he weren’t so lazy right now, wrapped in Joe’s arms and with the endorphins still floating away in his blood, this might be the point where he’d snap, bite out something harsh, and end the call. Instead, with Joe’s hand a warm, reassuring weight on his back, he takes a deep breath.

“Probably around the time I realized I was looking at Giovanni the way everyone else was looking at Maria and Giulia,” he says, smiling with the memory. Every male in their friend group had panted after the two girls… except for Nicky, who’d instead panted after Giovanni. It had been a major clue. “Why, Federico?”

Federico’s voice sounds as if he might be crying. “There’s this man,” he starts, “and I can’t get him out of my head… what do I do, Nico?”

Nicky exchanges a look with Joe, who looks mildly amused, and takes a deep breath. “You might want to sit down, and also, you’re on speaker. My boyfriend is listening in. Now, first of all I’d advise you to _not_ tell your father…”


End file.
